# Effects of silybin on triptorelin-induced bone metabolic abnormalities in prostate cancer revealed based on TMT-based proteomics

**Authors:** Jianhui Li, Xuejiao Lv, Ying Jiang

PMC · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0341064 · 2026-01-29

## TL;DR

This study explores how silybin may help counteract bone metabolism issues caused by triptorelin in prostate cancer cells.

## Contribution

The study identifies silybin's potential to modulate bone metabolism abnormalities via the IL-17 signaling pathway in prostate cancer cells.

## Key findings

- Silybin and triptorelin combination significantly inhibited LNCaP cell proliferation, migration, and invasion.
- Proteomics revealed 524 differentially expressed proteins in the combination treatment group compared to controls.
- Silybin may modulate bone metabolism abnormalities via the IL-17 signaling pathway and five key proteins.

## Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of action of SB on TRP-induced abnormalities of bone metabolism in LNCaP cells.

The effects of different concentrations of SB and TRP alone and in combination on the proliferation of LNCaP cells were examined by CCK-8 assay, and the half maximal inhibitory concentration were screened for the subsequent experiments. Transwell migration and invasion assays were used to further investigate the effects of SB and TRP alone and in combination on the migration and invasion ability of LNCaP cells. Based on Tandem Mass Tag (TMT) labeling and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technology, the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) of LNCaP cells in the control group, SB group, TRP group and combination group were quantified. Bioinformatics technology was used to analyze the DEPs of LNCaP cells in each group. At last, the achieved key targets were verified by western blot.

The inhibitory effects of different concentrations of SB and TRP alone and in combination on the proliferation, migration and invasion of LNCaP cells showed both time-dependent and concentration-dependent effects, and the inhibitory effects of the combination of drugs on LNCaP cells were more significant. The proteomics results showed that a total of 153 DEPs were identified in the SB group and the control group, 100 DEPs were identified in the TRP group and the control group, and 524 DEPs were identified in the combination group and the control group.

Bioinformatics analysis showed that a higher number of DEPs were enriched in the IL-17 signaling pathway in the SB and combined treatment groups compared to the control group. These findings suggest a potential role of SB and the combined treatment in modulating the IL-17 signaling pathway. In contrast, the same DEPs were found to be enriched in both the Circadian entrainment and Apelin signaling pathways in the TRP versus control and combined treatment versus control comparisons.

SB may regulate TRP-induced bone metabolism abnormalities in LNCaP cells through the IL-17 signaling pathway as well as five DEPs: p-ERK2, RELA, HSP90B1, GNAI1and GNAI3.

## Linked entities

- **Proteins:** PERK2 (miscRNA), RELA (RELA proto-oncogene, NF-kB subunit), HSP90B1 (heat shock protein 90 beta family member 1), GNAI1 (G protein subunit alpha i1), GNAI3 (G protein subunit alpha i3)
- **Chemicals:** silybin (PubChem CID 5213), triptorelin (PubChem CID 25074470)
- **Diseases:** prostate cancer (MONDO:0005159)

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** CTNNB1 (catenin beta 1) [NCBI Gene 1499] {aka CTNNB, EVR7, MRD19, NEDSDV, armadillo}, Relb (Relb proto-oncogene, NFKB subunit) [NCBI Gene 19698] {aka shep}, CASP3 (caspase 3) [NCBI Gene 836] {aka CPP32, CPP32B, SCA-1}, IL17F (interleukin 17F) [NCBI Gene 112744] {aka CANDF6, IL-17F, ML-1, ML1}, IL17A (interleukin 17A) [NCBI Gene 3605] {aka CTLA-8, CTLA8, IL-17, IL-17A, IL17, ILA17}, GLI1 (GLI family zinc finger 1) [NCBI Gene 2735] {aka GLI, PAPA8, PPD1}, Bmp2 (bone morphogenetic protein 2) [NCBI Gene 12156] {aka Bmp2a}, AR (androgen receptor) [NCBI Gene 367] {aka AIS, AR8, DHTR, HPCX3, HUMARA, HYSP1}, APLN (apelin) [NCBI Gene 8862] {aka APEL, XNPEP2}, LRP6 (LDL receptor related protein 6) [NCBI Gene 4040] {aka ADCAD2, EVR8, OPTA4, STHAG7}, Nfkb1 (nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B cells 1, p105) [NCBI Gene 18033] {aka NF-KB1, NF-kappaB, NF-kappaB1, p105, p50, p50/p105}, GNAI1 (G protein subunit alpha i1) [NCBI Gene 2770] {aka Gi, HG1B, NEDHISB}, IL25 (interleukin 25) [NCBI Gene 64806] {aka IL17E}, HSP90B1 (heat shock protein 90 beta family member 1) [NCBI Gene 7184] {aka ECGP, GP96, GRP94, HEL-S-125m, HEL35, TRA1}, RELA (RELA proto-oncogene, NF-kB subunit) [NCBI Gene 5970] {aka AIF3BL3, CMCU, NFKB3, p65}, GNAI3 (G protein subunit alpha i3) [NCBI Gene 2773] {aka 87U6, ARCND1, ARCODS, HG1A}, MARK1 (microtubule affinity regulating kinase 1) [NCBI Gene 4139] {aka MARK, Par-1c, Par1c}, Tnfsf11 (tumor necrosis factor (ligand) superfamily, member 11) [NCBI Gene 21943] {aka Ly109l, ODF, OPGL, RANKL, Trance}, RAP1A (RAP1A, member of RAS oncogene family) [NCBI Gene 5906] {aka C21KG, G-22K, KREV-1, KREV1, RAP1, SMGP21}, IL17B (interleukin 17B) [NCBI Gene 27190] {aka IL-17B, IL-20, NIRF, ZCYTO7}, CALR (calreticulin) [NCBI Gene 811] {aka CALR1, CRT, HEL-S-99n, RO, SSA, cC1qR}, Nfkb2 (nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B cells 2, p49/p100) [NCBI Gene 18034] {aka NF-kappaB2, lyt, p49, p49/p100, p50B, p52}, HSP90AA1 (heat shock protein 90 alpha family class A member 1) [NCBI Gene 3320] {aka EL52, HEL-S-65p, HSP86, HSP89A, HSP90A, HSP90N}, GNRHR (gonadotropin releasing hormone receptor) [NCBI Gene 2798] {aka GNRHR1, GRHR, HH7, LHRHR, LRHR}, EGR2 (early growth response 2) [NCBI Gene 1959] {aka AT591, CMT1D, CMT4E, KROX20}, Rel (Rel proto-oncogene, NFKB subunit) [NCBI Gene 19696] {aka c-Rel}, IL17D (interleukin 17D) [NCBI Gene 53342] {aka IL-17D}, Cxcr4 (C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4) [NCBI Gene 12767] {aka CD184, CXC-R4, CXCR-4, Cmkar4, LESTR, PB-CKR}, IL17C (interleukin 17C) [NCBI Gene 27189] {aka CX2, IL-17C}, Igf1 (insulin-like growth factor 1) [NCBI Gene 16000] {aka C730016P09Rik, Igf-1, Igf-I}, MAPK1 (mitogen-activated protein kinase 1) [NCBI Gene 5594] {aka ERK, ERK-2, ERK2, ERT1, MAPK2, NS13}, TRAF3 (TNF receptor associated factor 3) [NCBI Gene 7187] {aka CAP-1, CD40bp, CRAF1, IIAE5, IMD132A, IMD132B}, Rela (Rela proto-oncogene, NFKB subunit) [NCBI Gene 19697] {aka p65, p65 NF-kappa B, p65 NFkB}, NFATC1 (nuclear factor of activated T cells 1) [NCBI Gene 4772] {aka NF-ATC, NF-ATc1.2, NFAT2, NFATc}, TNFSF11 (TNF superfamily member 11) [NCBI Gene 8600] {aka CD254, ODF, OPGL, OPTB2, RANKL, TNLG6B}, EGR1 (early growth response 1) [NCBI Gene 1958] {aka AT225, G0S30, KROX-24, NGFI-A, TIS8, ZIF-268}, CRELD2 (CRELD disulfide isomerase 2) [NCBI Gene 79174], GNRH1 (gonadotropin releasing hormone 1) [NCBI Gene 2796] {aka GNRH, GRH, LHRH, LNRH}, MAPK3 (mitogen-activated protein kinase 3) [NCBI Gene 5595] {aka ERK-1, ERK1, ERT2, HS44KDAP, HUMKER1A, P44ERK1}
- **Diseases:** neurodegeneration (MESH:D019636), uterine fibroids (MESH:D007889), endometriosis (MESH:D004715), genitourinary malignancy (MESH:D014565), abnormal bone metabolism (MESH:D001851), osteoporosis (MESH:D010024), cancer (MESH:D009369), RSD (MESH:D010262), multiple diseases (MESH:D004194), atherosclerosis (MESH:D050197), bone and joint diseases (MESH:D001847), bone metastasis (MESH:D009362), PCa (MESH:D011471), inflammation (MESH:D007249), weight gain (MESH:D015430), nerve damage (MESH:D000080902), prostate, lung, colon, breast, bladder and hepatocellular carcinoma (MESH:D011472), erectile dysfunction (MESH:D007172), bone resorption (MESH:D001862)
- **Chemicals:** TRP (MESH:D014364), ammonium hydroxide (MESH:D064753), SB (MESH:D000965), formic acid (MESH:C030544), amino acid (MESH:D000596), iodoacetamide (MESH:D007460), calcium (MESH:D002118), ammonium bicarbonate (MESH:C027043), SDS (MESH:D012967), Peptide (MESH:D010455), S (MESH:D013455), mitomycin C (MESH:D016685), P (MESH:D010758), methionine (MESH:D008715), metformin (MESH:D008687), Carbamidomethyl (-), thymoquinone (MESH:C003466), atorvastatin (MESH:D000069059), acetonitrile (MESH:C032159), PVDF (MESH:C024865), luteinizing hormone (MESH:D007986), cAMP (MESH:D000242), paraformaldehyde (MESH:C003043), C (MESH:D002244), Pyrimidine (MESH:C030986), K (MESH:D011188), testosterone (MESH:D013739), docetaxel (MESH:D000077143), CCK-8 (MESH:D012844), water (MESH:D014867), PBS (MESH:D007854), CO2 (MESH:D002245), SB (MESH:D000077385), hydroxylamine (MESH:D019811), crystal violet (MESH:D005840), dithiothreitol (MESH:D004229)
- **Species:** Mus musculus (house mouse, species) [taxon 10090], Rattus norvegicus (brown rat, species) [taxon 10116], Silybum marianum (blessed milkthistle, species) [taxon 92921], Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]
- **Cell lines:** LNCaP — Homo sapiens (Human), Prostate carcinoma, Cancer cell line (CVCL_0395)

## Figures

10 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12854432/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12854432